The Treasury Laws Amendment (Recovering Unpaid Superannuation) Bill 2019 has now received royal assent, providing a one-off amnesty to encourage employers to self-correct historical SG non-compliance dating from 1 July 1992 to 31 March 2018.
The amnesty period will now run from 24 May 2018 to 7 September 2020, giving employers six months to get their SG affairs in order before a 100 per cent minimum penalty will kick in for those who fail to come forward during the amnesty period.
An employer will not be able to benefit from the amnesty for SG shortfall relating to the quarter starting on 1 April 2018 or subsequent quarters.
An SG amnesty form has now been made available on the ATO’s website, with employers required to complete one form per quarter.
The ATO has announced that employers who had previously disclosed unpaid SG to the ATO in anticipation of the SG amnesty, particularly those who came forward between 24 May 2018 and 6 March 2020, will not be required to lodge again or apply on the SG amnesty form.
The amnesty allows employers to claim tax deductions for payments of SG charge or contributions made during the amnesty period to offset SG charge, as well as remove the administrative component and the Part 7 penalty that may otherwise apply in relation to SG non-compliance.
Around 7,000 employers have since come forward to voluntarily disclose historical unpaid super since the amnesty was first announced on 24 May 2018.
Treasury estimates an additional 7,000 employers will come forward during the six-month amnesty period, returning $230 million of superannuation to employees who may have otherwise completely missed out.
